¹ tn That is, Samuel.

² tn Heb “by the hand of Samuel.”

² tn The name “Samuel” has been supplied here for clarity.

³ tn Heb “said”; the words “to himself” are implied, given the secrecy surrounding Samuel’s mission to Bethlehem (v. 2).

¹ tn Heb “to meet them.” This may indicate purpose on Samuel’s part. The next sentence indicates that the meeting was by design, not just an accident.

² tn Heb “they—David appointed, and Samuel the seer, in their position.”

¹ tn On the chronology involved here see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 287.

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn The words “Samuel then said” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹ tn Heb “and the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel.”

¹ tn Heb “and the word of Samuel was.” The present translation understands Samuel to be the speaker of the divine word (“Samuel” is a subjective genitive in this case), although the statement could mean that he was the recipient of the divine word (“Samuel” is an objective genitive in this case) who in turn reported it to Israel.

³ tc At Qumran 4QSam^a omits “the boy” and reads “he grew up there.” The Hebrew word “there” (שָׁם; sham) consists of the first two letters of Samuel’s name.

² tn Heb “he” (also in v. 9); the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹ tc The Lucianic recension of the Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And the Lord said to Samuel.”

¹ tn Heb “he” (also in v. 25); the referent (Samuel) has been specified in both places in the translation for clarity.

¹ tn Heb “and Samuel heard all the words of the people and he spoke them into the ears of the Lord.”

² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term has been debated. For a survey of various views, see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 139-40.

² sn This is a parenthetic remark in which Samuel is again contrasted with Hophni and Phinehas (cf. 2:11b-12; 2:17-18).

³ tc The MT is singular, apparently referring to Samuel (but cf. CEV “Elkanah”). A few medieval manuscripts and some ancient versions take the verb as plural (cf. TEV, NLT).